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ROAD TRANSPORT (SAFETY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT) AMENDMENT REGULATION 2008 (NO 1) (NO 40 OF 2008)
2008
THE
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
ROAD TRANSPORT (SAFETY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT)
AMENDMENT REGULATION 2008 (No 1)
SUBORDINATE LAW
SL2008-40
EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
Presented by
Mr John Hargreaves MLA
Minister for
Territory and Municipal Services
ROAD TRANSPORT (SAFETY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT)
AMENDMENT REGULATION 2008 (No 1)
This regulation amends section 28 of the Road Transport (Safety and
Traffic Management) Regulation 2000, which deals with reporting
crashes to a police officer. The regulations are made under section 33 of the
Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999.
The new crash reporting website will make it easier for drivers to report
accidents to the police within the required time frame. It will also make it
easier for the police and ACT road safety managers to analyse crash data to
identify new and emerging road safety issues on the ACT road
network.
People can continue to report crashes at police stations, if
they wish.
Part 1 Preliminary
Clause 1 Name of
Regulation
This clause is a formal provision to set out the name of the
regulation.
Clause 2 Commencement
This clause is a formal
provision that sets the commencement of the regulation. The amending regulation
will commence on a date to be fixed or determined by the commencement notice.
This arrangement will allow the new provisions about the crash reporting website
to come into force at the same time as that website becomes operational, which
is expected to occur later this year.
Part 2 Road Transport (Safety
and Traffic Management) Regulation 2000
Clause 3 Legislation
amended - pt 2
This clause explains that the amendments in this part of
the regulation apply to the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management)
Regulation 2000.
Clause 4 Section 28
This clause
replaces current section 28 with a new section 28.
New subsection 28(1)
provides for crash reporting using the new crash reporting website. This
subsection makes it clear that if a driver reports a crash using the new
website, the driver is taken to have reported the crash “to a police
officer” for the purposes of Rule 287 (3) of the Australian Road Rules.
Rule 287 (3) requires that the driver of a motor vehicle involved in a crash
must give the required particulars about a crash to a police officer within the
required time. For information, Rule 287 (4) makes it clear that the required
time means as soon as possible, but, except in exceptional circumstances, within
24 hours of the crash.
The effect of new section 28(1) is to make it
clear that a driver who uses the new crash reporting website has discharged his
or her obligation to report a crash to a police officer. It does not prevent
drivers from reporting a crash to a police officer in person, for example if the
driver does not have Internet access.
New sections 28 (2) and (3) reflect
the content of current subsections 28 (1) and (2), and deal with the
circumstances in which crashes must be reported and the particulars that must be
provided in crash reports.
New section 28 (4) defines the term
“crash reporting website”. As the definition explains, this website
is operated by the territory for the purpose of receiving information about
crashes. The note to section 28 (4) explains how the crash reporting website
can be accessed. This note will be amended as needed to ensure that it remains
current and that readers of the legislation are directed to the appropriate
websites.